Sunday, May 22, 2011

Just another walk-off winner

Starting pitcher:
M.C. O'Connor

Nate Schierholtz saved the day in the 8th and The Bullets won it in the 11th. Darren Ford and Emmanuel Burriss put on a show of poise and speed to conjure up another walk-off win. The Giants gave up five runs in the series. That's some serious pitching, my friends. The A's have to feel snakebit--they have a good staff and only gave up ten runs over the three games. With any kind of offense that should have been good enough to avoid a sweep. The Giants like to live on the edge, and it seems to be working with 27 wins and a 3-1/2 game lead. It's just hard to imagine continuing this amazing run of good fortune in close contests. I suppose the hitting will come around and get a little better (the Giants are tied for last in runs scored in the NL) as the season goes on. In the meantime the pitchers will keep things close and give guys (like Nate, Darren, and Manny) chances to be heroes.

It was a great day for plays at the plate. Manny Burriss made a throw from left that almost got Coco Crisp in the 7th, and Ryan Sweeney nearly got Darren Ford at the end of the game. In both cases the ball was damn close but the catcher could not get a handle on it at the moment of contact. Speaking of catchers, Buster Posey took another shot to the face. Bruce Bochy acknowledged after the game that Posey was getting more than his share of dings. "He's taken more (shots to the head) than I've ever seen." That's not good. Maybe Eli Whiteside can get a start against Florida. The Marlins are without über-ace Josh Johnson who was placed on the DL with a shoulder injury.

I'm looking forward to the off-day tomorrow. I can't take these four-hour grind-a-thons even if they are dramatic and beautiful wins. Hell, it is only May! I've got to make it all summer into the fall.

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

We could have won this one in 9 innings if big head did not go to Affeldt in the 7th. With a one run lead in a close game, right now, Affeldt is the last guy I go to. Sanchez pitched another beauty, only to have Affeldt come in and the only out he was able to geet in 4 batters was the sacrifice bunt by the pitcher. Affeldt may get his mojo back, but certainly right now, if winning is the key, Do not pitch Affeldt in these situations. Put him in when we are winning or losing by at least 7 runs. This guy makes millions for his non-performance, when most states are laying off teachers, and nurses who make under 60 grand a year, because we supposedly cannot afford to pay to educate our populace, but we can have citizens pay taxes to support new stadiums to allow guys like Affeldt to make millions for less than average performances. And by performance I do not mean in the sense of being an entertainer.

It seems like a strange time to dump on one under-performing relief pitcher. Oh well.Something that has been perhaps under-reported is the impact that the return of Andres Torres has had on the team. He's doing a great job and the team is winning. I guess he hasn't been THE big hero of any games, so it doesn't seem very dramatic. But I think he's the magic ingredient.Imagine how good we'll be when Sandoval is healthy.